Aeroplane.



R. A. MERCK.

AEROPLANE. APPLICATION FILED-APR. 29, 1912. 1,051,429,, Patented Jan.28, 1913.

Inventor Attdrneys 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. W .hmmlhm Wit esses R. A. MERGK.

AEROPLANE.

APPLIOATION PILED APR. 29, 1912.

Patented Jan. 28, 1 913.

LO51AQQQB 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Attorneys COLUMBIA PLANQGRAPH c0" WASHINGTON, D4 c.

R. A. MERGK.

ABROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1912.

i 1 ,051,429. v Patented Jan.28, 1913.

if 4/ z if Witnesses Inventor f, I Y b y Attorneys COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0, W NNNNNNNNNNNNN c.

TTED STATES PfiTENT OFFICE.

RALPH A. MERCK, OF GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T BENJAMIN I-I. MERCK, OF GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913..

Application filed April 29, 1912. Serial No. 693,885.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, RALPH A. MEROK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gainesville, in the county of Hall and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Aeroplane, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to aerodromcs of the inultiplane type, one of its objects being to provide separately movable balancing planes adapted to be used both for maintaining and restoring the lateral balance of the machine and for retarding the clownward movement of the machine should the same cease soaring from any cause.

A further object is to provide an aerodrome having a steering element or tail piece having improved means whereby it can be shifted upwardly, downwardly, or. laterally at the will of the aviator, there being additional means whereby the said tail piece can be collapsed and brought close to the center of gravity of the machine, thus to insure proper sustaining action of the balancing planes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which'will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the controlling mechanism, parts being removed Fig. 5 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the rudder controlling mechanism. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through a portion of the vertical rudder. Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the beam, the sleeve thereon, and the connecting strips. Fig. 8 is a lon gitudinal section through a portion of the beam and through the sleeve, one of the connecting strips being shown in elevation. F ig. 9 is an enlarged vertical section through the beam. adjusting shaft.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the frame of the macollapsed as desired.

chine, there being upwardly converging side strips 2 constltutlng portions of the frame and provided, at their lower pro ecting ends,

-with forks 3 in which supporting wheels 4 Fig. 1. The said sustaining plane is of the same width as the frame 1. Spars 9 converge forwardly from frames 1 and 5 and a shaft 10 is journaled in the front ends thereof and carries a horizontal rudder 11. An arm 12 extends downwardly from this rudder and is connected, as by means of a rod 13 to an actuating lever 14. Said lever carries a pawl 15 adapted to engage a toothed segment 16 whereby the lever and rudder can be locked in any positions to which they may be adjusted.

The seat 17 to be occupied by the aviator is supported by the beams 7 and the motor 18 is supported under the beams 7 and drives chains 19. These chains serve to transmit motion to the shafts 20 of propellers 21, two of these propellers being preferably employed, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

' Supported at the center of the back of the inner frame 5 is a standard 22 mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis, said standard being perpendicular to the plane 8. A longitudinally channeled beam 23 is pivotally connected, as at 24, to the standard 22 and is mounted for angular adjustment relative to the standard, said beam being movable in a plane parallel with the axis of rotation of standard 22. A sleeve 25 is slidably mounted on the beam 23 and has longitudinally slotted connecting strips 26 secured to it and slidably mounted within the channel in the beam 23. These strips are slotted so as to receive the pivot element 24. Strips 26 merge into stems 27 extending along opposite sides of lazy tongs 28 the innermost links of which are mounted on the pivot element 24 while the pivot element 29 extending through two of the links at their point of crossing is engaged by the stems 27. Thus it will be seen that when the sleeve 25 is shifted longitudinally along the beam 28, the lazy tongs can be quickly extended or A binding screw 30 extends into the sleeve and engages a clamping plate 31 bearing on the connecting strips 26, this screw having a hand wheel 32 at its upper end whereby it can be easily rotated by the occupant of the seat 17. The links at the rear ends of the lazy tongs, are pivotally connected, at their point of crossing to a vertical rudder 33, the pivot being indicated at 34 in Fig. 1. A longitudinal slot 35 is formed within the vertical rudder and receives the pivot device 36 connecting the next two adjoining cross links, said pivot device carrying any suitable means, such as a collar 37, whereby withdrawal of the pivot device from the slot is prevented. A horizontal rudder 38 is preferably mounted upon one of the longitudinal edges of the vertical rudder 33 and, if necessary, may be provided with a slot 39 to receive the upper ends of the adjacent links of the lazy tongs when said tongs are collapsed as hereinafter set forth.

It will be apparent that, should the machine tend to dip downwardly while in flight, the aviator can, by shifting the sleeve 25 rearwardly along the beam 23, quickly extend the lazy tongs 28 and thus bring the horizontal and vertical rudders 38 and 33 to points considerably removed from the main frame 1 of the machine. Likewise, by shifting the sleeve 25 toward the front end of the beam 23, the lazy tongs can be quickly collapsed and the rudders thereon brought to position close to the frame 1. Under ordinary conditions the sleeve 25 can be held against movement by the screw 30.

In order that the rudders may be shifted laterally, upwardly and downwardly so as to control the direction of flight, mechanism of novel form has been employed, this mechanism being shown particularly in Fig. 4. This mechanism includes a tubular shaft section 40 mounted for rotation in the front portion of the frame 1 and about an axis perpendicular to the bottom of said frame. This tubular shaft section has another shaft section 41 loosely mounted within it and provided with a spiral groove 42 adapted to receive a pin 43 extending inwardly from a hand wheel 44. Said wheel is adapted to rotate freely on the section 41 and has a swivel connection with the section 40 so that, by rotating wheel 44, the section 41 can be shifted longitudinally in either direction relative to the section 40. The upper shaft section 41 is connected to the middle portion of a wheel 45 on which rests the forward end of the beam 23. A pin 46 extends up; wardly from the wheel andengages a block 47 mounted to slide within a slot 48 formed in the bottom of the channel of beam 23, said slot being of a length slightly greater than the diameter of the wheel 45. A hand wheel 49 is secured to the upper section 41 and by means thereof wheel 45 can be rotated in either direction so as to cause the beam 23 to swing about the axis of standard 22, thus moving the rudders 33 and 38 to the right or to the left for the purpose of steering the machine laterally while in flight. hen it is desired to steer the machine up wardly or downwardly, wheel 44 is rotated and thus causes the section 41 to shift longitudinally within the section 40, thereby raising or lowering the wheel 45 and producing a corresponding movement of the beam 23. Said beam therefore swings about the element 24 as an axis.

Upwardly diverging arms 50 are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the side strips 2 and are disposed at right angles to each other, the upper ends of these arms being fastened to an arcuate aerofoil 51 supported beyond the side of the sustaining plane 8. It is to be understood of course that two of these aerofoils are used. The

aerofoils are adjusted. by means of crossed rods 52 extending downwardly to treadles 53 located below and in front of the seat 17 where they can be easily actuated by the feet of the aviator. It will be apparent that by pushing forwardly on the upper portions of the treadles 53, the front or advancing edges of the aerofoils 51 can be moved upwardly and rearwarclly so that the pressure of air upon the lower surfaces of the aerofoils will have a lifting effect during the forward movement of the machine. If, for any reason, the soaring action of the machine should cease and said machine should begin to descend out of control of the aviator, the curved aerofoils will shift automatically to positions to compress the air columns in proportion to the velocity of the falling body, the said aerofoils thus acting as parachutes to retard the downward movement of the said body and permit a landing to be effected without danger of the machine overturning or striking the ground with excessive force. Obviously by separately shifting the aerofoils while in flight, the lateral equilibrium of the machine can be maintained. In order that the center of gravity maybe maintained in proper relation to the sustaining aerofoils while the machine is falling, the lazy tongs 28 are shifted so as to bring the rudders 33 and 38 close to the frame 1. The aerofoils will operate to retard the downward movement of the machine irrespective of the angle of incidence assumed by the machine while falling.

What is claimed is 1. An aeroplane including a main frame, a sustaining plane thereon, arcuate aerofoils supported beyond the sides of the main frame, said aerofoils being movable about an axis extending transversely of the line of flight and eccentrically disposed relative to the arc of the aerofoils, a rudder supported in rear of the main frame, and means under the control of the aviator for shifting the rudder to shift the center of gravity of the aeroplane.

2. An aeroplane including a main frame, a beam supported therein, means under the control of the aviator for swinging said beam separately or simultaneously laterally and upwardly or downwardly, a rudder, and a lazy tong connection between the beam and rudder.

3. An aeroplane including a main frame, a beam mount-ed therein, means under the control of the aviator for swinging the beam about an axis extending transversely of the line of flight, means under the control of the aviator for swinging the beam upwardly or downwardly, a rudder, an extensible connection between the rudder and the beam, and means under the control of the aviator for shifting said extension to move the rudder toward or away from the beam.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RALPH A. MERGK.

Witnesses:

E. A. SPENCER, C. P. Nnnsn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

